Palliative care is the active care and support of people at any stage of a progressive illness. This includes the management of symptoms, which may include pain and nausea. Palliative care provides psychological, social and spiritual support. The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best quality of life for patients’ and their families and carers.

We are a Specialist Palliative Care Team who specialise in caring for people living with cancer or a life limiting illness. We work alongside other health and social care teams who may be supporting the patient, such as the Wards, GP or District Nurse. We aim to support the patient and the people caring for the patient and their family. To achieve this, the team aims to adopt a holistic and multi-professional approach to care.

The Specialist Palliative Care Team serves the Selby, York and wider locality and covers the hospitals and community in this area.

Team members primarily are either hospital or community based and are made up of consultants, clinical nurse specialists in palliative care, physiotherapists, an occupational therapist and a family support worker.

Referrals are received from a variety of settings including the ward, consultant, GP, hospice and district nursing teams.

We provide a seven day palliative care service which operates during the following times:

Community - 8.30am to 4.30pm

Hospital - 8.00am to 4.00pm

The team has recently recruited three End of Life Educators who will work collaboratively with the Specialist Palliative Care Team to deliver education and support across the settings, helping to ensure that high standards of care are delivered in accordance with people’s wishes where possible.